


Maybe not quite so alone

by NotPitifulChildrenAnymore



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Brooke Lohst Protection Squad 2k21, Fake/Pretend Relationship, I Tried, Protective Michael Mell, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Ship Is Hella Valid Actually, Unrequited Brooke Lohst/Chloe Valentine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27577141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotPitifulChildrenAnymore/pseuds/NotPitifulChildrenAnymore
Summary: What if Michael wasn’t so alone in the bathroom during the biggest party of the fall?
Relationships: Brooke Lohst & Michael Mell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

Michael really didn’t want to ask who was at the door. He just wanted to be able to sneak out, undetected, and go home. At least there he had his weed if nothing else. 

But whoever was knocking was keeping it up at a relentless pace before it swung open with a surprising force. It took him a minute to place a name for the blonde now standing in front of him. 

Brooke… oh. Jeremy’s new girlfriend. 

Suddenly, he felt a bit more sympathy towards her as everything seemed to click into place. At any rate they had a common person. That, and they were both screwed over by said common person. He’d heard rumors about what was going on upstairs on his way to the bathroom. Was he surprised? Not really, nothing Jeremy did with that… thing still in his mind could surprise him anymore. 

“I’m shocked you’re actually away from Chloe for once. No threesome for you guys?” he hedged. 

Automatically she was on the defensive, with a responding “I’m shocked you actually showed up. Thought you didn’t know how to do anything without Jeremy.” Witty- Michael was impressed.

She must have been able to tell that she struck a nerve, because she murmured an apology before asking, “so… is it comfortable in there?” 

He took note of his surroundings, and the ceramic tub he was now sitting in. 

“Not particularly,” he admitted. 

This seemed to be good enough for her, as she came over and plopped down into it too. As they sat there in silence, he took in her appearance. Quite honestly she looked like a mess, with her carefully applied mascara streaking down her cheeks, and her eyeliner now smudged all the way toward her temple. Her lipstick was also smudged in places, though he doubted it was from doing anything with Jeremy. Her blonde locks were everywhere, escaping the two pigtails she’s gathered it into earlier. She was picking at the knee of her tights absentmindedly, drawing Michaels attention to her costume. He had to give her points for creativity with the whole “sexy dog” outfit, it looked as though she’d put a lot of thought and time into the costume. But now, her tights were ripped all around, and the leotard was wrinkled. She swiped at it in a half hearted attempt to smooth it before giving up, and instead choosing to set aside a cup he hadn’t even realized she was holding. 

He was at an impasse at what to say, so he sat there, thinking. 

“Why a sexy dog? Isn’t that kinda…” he waved a hand as though hoping it would encompass everything he was trying to say. He really wasn’t in the mood to talk but since she was here, may as well. With any luck she’d get offended and leave. 

“What, sexist and objectifying?” she asked coldly, cocking her head to the side in a way that emphasized the now limp dog ears that were hanging at the side. 

Okayyy then, he didn’t think she’d actually make the connection. Then again, he couldn’t really make assumptions about her. He barely knew her, just that she was popular, and fairly hot. Oh- and rarely seen without Chloe. Though he couldn't exactly judge..

As he did a once over of the girl, he paused. Even with Brooke’s clear blue eyes bloodshot, there was a certain quality to them that made Michael stop and consider her. 

“I mean, I just thought it was creative,” she admitted. “You never see sexy dogs, do you?”

She paused as though waiting for a response, but continued after he said nothing. 

“I kinda chose it in the mood of you know what? Who cares what other people think it represents. I want to wear a dog costume and I want to look sexy. Therefore, a sexy dog costume.” 

He said nothing again, just nodding. Something about this one gesture seemed to get to her as she began crying again, to Michaels horror. 

“He said it was original! I spent weeks on it, and the best he could come up with is original! I mean, I began dating him because he was sweet and sensitive and kind and the kind of guy who wouldn’t cheat. A guy that I was honestly super into. Not some…” 

She seemed at a loss for words to describe exactly what Jeremy was, and he was tempted to give her some help with that. He’d compiled a list in time since Jeremy had been ignoring him. Extensive- though not very harsh. He doubted he could go up to Jeremy and yell that he'd hurt his feelings and expect anything to change. Tried that- failed hard.

“And now he’s upstairs having sex with my best friend.” she finished. 

“He’s been blowing me off for weeks” he began, trying not to tell her too much. But as he looked over to her, he felt something inside him let up. She at least deserved to know what was going on with her now ex-boyfriend. 

“He took some super-computer in order to get with some girl and decided popularity was more important than his best friend.” She considered this, before something apparently clicked inside her mind. 

“So he was already into some other girl?” she asked, remarkably calm for someone who was probably completely wasted earlier. 

“Um… yeah?” 

“Interesting.” 

He nodded again, utterly bewildered. He'd been fairly nonchalant about when Jeremy first told him about the squip but this was a whole other love of 'don't care'

“We should date.” 

He just stared at her, waiting for her to realize what she just said. 

“Not actually, but think about it! With this supercomputer thing, he obviously won’t notice. But Chloe sure as hell would, and honestly? We could both probably use a friend- they don't need to know that."

Michael nodded, considering. 

“You’re into Chloe, aren’t you?” He didn't know why he cared honestly, but it had been a long and strange night- so he figured he got a pass.

She flushed a bright red, and he smirked slightly. 

“Wow babe, we just began dating and you’re already emotionally cheating on me. That hurts Brooke.” 

She let out a watery laugh, punctuated only by a slight hiccup.

"Sorry honey, can’t help my desires.” 

At his quizzical look, she sighed. 

“I’ve been told that by five different guys. Each of them used that line after I asked them why they cheated.” 

Michael felt something a bit more than sympathy rising up in him. He’d literally just met her and already he wanted to protect her. He wondered how anybody could cheat on a girl like her. She was sweet and kind, sure, but he had a feeling she was pretty smart, and had a bit of a sarcastic streak. He could get behind that. If it helped her keep her mind off Jeremy for a little while, or kept her from running straight back to Chloe until she apologized, he guessed he could live with fake dating for a little while. \

So that’s how the second most popular girl in the school ended up walking out of the biggest party of the fall hand in hand with the school “loser”, each of them knowing that for the time being, they had each other.


	2. It's the day after Halloween and Chloe is too hung over to care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I've been most looking forward to writing Chloe and Jeremy's reaction to their best friends dating, so this was insanely fun to write

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is the longest chapter I've ever posted so LES GO
> 
> Yes, Pinkberry is heavily implied heere. Whether or not it's endgame, I don't know, but I hope you enjoy it!

If Chloe could have chosen any way she would have expected this morning to go, it sure as hell wouldn’t have been like this. 

The leaning over a toilet bowl part? Well… yes. Every year without fail since Jake began hosting this party. But literally nothing else about this made sense. 

For one thing, Brooke wasn’t there. That had been a huge mess on her part; she knew it. At least, she would. Probably. What could she say? Hangover headaches were a nightmare. 

Especially when you're left to fend for yourself, she considered. Slipping her brunette locks through a hair tie, she prepared herself for another barrage of nausea as she took inventory. After all, it’s what she did best. It may have been a disaster but it would be fairly easy to fix, right? 

Let’s see. She had an ex (?) boyfriend currently in the hospital (she’d never actually cleared that up with him last night.) A best friend who was mad at her, and who she seriously owed an apology. Chloe wasn’t dumb, she knew perfectly well how to tell when she royally screwed up. If she was being honest, she was shocked she’d actually gone there. Paying that one chick to try to get Dustin to cheat was one thing, at least she’d been able to be there for Brooke. She knew his type way before Brooke even knew his name, and she knew how it would end. When she caught him in the back alley of a Pinkberry with some no name, she knew Brooke wouldn't believe her. So she proved it to her in the only way she could.

“This is why I don’t do apologies,” she reminded herself. Honestly, she could just imagine how her apology for this would come out. What was she supposed to say? Sorry I tried to test your boyfriend's willingness to cheat by attempting to get into his pants? Sorry I’m madly in love with you and never thought any of the guys you dated were ever good enough for you, or actually appreciated you? No, and no. She knew how massively messed up what she did was, and there was no way she was confessing any time soon.

She zeroed in on a few texts from Jenna, claiming she had big news. She’d heard that one a million times this week, but she considered last night's events. She had a feeling she wanted to hear this one. So she slid accept, getting to work on her eyeliner as she did so. Jenna was going on about last night's party, Dustin and… the hell did she just say? Chloe had seen Rich with her own two eyes, albeit drunk herself. There was no way he wasn’t wasted. But he was apparently sober when he decided to burn down her ex (god she really had to clarify that with him when he began to recover) boyfriend's house. 

Okay then. That… huh. She really had no clue how to feel about that. It wasn’t like she didn’t care about him. They had been through too much together for that. It was just that the entire situation was complicated. She knew he still wanted a connection with his parents, and the house provided that. Plus, it was his home. The place where he grew up and as he’d privately confessed to her, the place he hoped his parents may look to find him someday. Chloe was all for severing connections where it didn’t work (easier said than done thanks to her heart recently deciding it had to go and fall in love. The nerve.) But she had to admit, it seemed cruel to him to take that remaining connection and destroy it so soon. It had only been a few months since they’d upped and left. 

She realized Jenna had reached the end of her story, and without a thought, decided to tell Brooke. Wait, she probably couldn’t do that anymore. She decided to shove it to her conscience by settling for simple, “Big news I have to tell you. Can we talk?” She was Chloe Valentine after all, and she’d learned that you never got anything if you didn’t actually try for it. At any rate, it would make preparing her apology easier if she knew Brooke would actually accept it. “Hey, listen. I am so sorry about last night. Can we talk about it at school?” Brooke gave a murmur of assent, and Chloe sighed in relief. This, she knew. “So, did you see Rich last night?” Brooke’s flat reply of “no, I was crying” hinted at something she wasn’t telling Chloe, but oh well. If there was, she knew she’d find out eventually. As she filled Brooke in on what Jenna had told her, she registered that Brooke wasn’t alone right then and there. It definitely wouldn’t be Jeremy. Brooke couldn’t have lowered her standards that impossibly low within one night, right? She'd find out eventually.

27 comments total so far, and she'd only been in school for a half hour so far. A chunk of them were spreading the word about Rich being the one to set the fire, a few were about Jake and the rest were mixed a bit everywhere. 

She felt a light pressure on her shoulder, slamming her locker closed in the process of whipping around. She was met with Brooke’s neutral expression, one she fought herself to mirror back. She was seriously suppressing a huge smile that always came on in reaction to seeing Brooke. That, and the urge to just pull her in and begin making out with her against the locker. As her brain was only apparently capable of letting her either act heartless or not make a fool of herself one or the other, she settled for being able to achieve a neutral expression and hope Brooke couldn’t sense that her heart was beating out of her chest. 

Brooke looked great for having spent the night crying, and the reason why clicked in Chloe’s mind as she let her eyes travel to the side of Brooke. Standing there was NOT Jeremy, but a pretty attractive guy who she’d sworn she saw around before. Hold up- no way. Chloe was sure that she’d managed to impart some sort of wisdom in their years of friendship. She had really just thrown all that away to date a nerd?

“Jealous” a tiny voice at the back of her head observed. 

Well, yeah. No matter how furiously her heart was pounding, she had to admit it was nice to see Brooke so… at peace with this guy. Michael, she recalled. As she was trying to collect her thoughts, she noticed him take Brooke’s hand in his as her fingers seemed to wave hello, encased in his grasp. 

Good, she thought unexpectedly. Brooke was one for PDA in relationships, and he seemed to have caught onto that already. Which became clear as his fingers had worked their way up to getting tangled into Brooke’s blonde waves . Chloe was halfway between ready to leave and wishing she was in his position before she realized they weren’t actually kissing. Brooke had leaned up to kiss his cheek, before settling down to rest her head against his chest. Another point in his favor. Brooke was used to big, dramatic makeout sessions in the hallway that usually ended in a cheating scandal not too soon after. She adored PDA, but the little things. Hand holding, cheek kisses, everything he seemed to have no problem providing her. Her final clue that Brooke would be happy with him though, was what happened once Brooke left. Brooke had remained in that position, her face rising and falling at certain parts of Chloe’s apology. He was incredibly still, letting Brooke take the lead on reactions and giving her the floor when it came to her response (Brooke had insisted on him staying, Chloe didn’t see why not. One more person to bomb in front of as she poured her heart and soul out.) Her response boiled down to something that sounded like a mix of relief and gratitude. At any rate, Chloe was glad that Brooke realized it was sincere. Promising she’d reach out soon, Brooke was off to class. 

When Chloe realized Michael was still there, she debated between just saying anything, or letting him begin. He made the decision for her, which startled her a little. “She cares about you,” he observed. She nodded in response, wondering where this was going. “She’s really an amazing person you know,” he continued. She agreed, confused. He really didn’t need to tell her the virtues of her best friend. It wasn’t anything that hadn’t already flashed through her mind in a 3 am haze. She noted the tiniest shift in position on his end as she thought this, and adjusted accordingly, glad that she thought to wear heels today. Which reminded her to straighten up a bit higher, sensing that he was about to get to the bottom of whatever he’d stuck around to tell her. “You messed up badly Valentine. Luckily, I’ve got her back now for as long as she’ll allow me to.” He paused to adjust his glasses, and as he did Chloe caught a glimpse of something shining in his dark brown eyes as he did. “It’s going to take a while. So if she decides to forgive you, try not to screw this up as badly as you have already.” 

Damn he was good. Every word seemed carefully innocent, but Chloe could see through the implications, and what he was really trying to say. Something about how well he did this honestly gained Chloe’s respect even as it sent a slight tingle down her spine. She was impressed for sure. “So… yeah. I figured you might want to know that she’s got someone by her side, and I’m not ditching her for the world. I hope you had a good time with Heere though, I’d hate to think you tossed aside your one good friend for nothing. Based on how quickly Jake got the pleasure of your company after, I’m assuming not. Shame. At least he did something good with his life and helped Brooke realize what she should have years ago. Maybe he’ll remind you what happens when you trade your best friend for a bad job. At any rate, have fun getting into his pants. I will be meeting up with my girlfriend now.” He turned around on the spot and finished it off with a mock salute, leaving Chloe speechless. That was something that not many people could do. She found herself considering his words though, as she passed Jeremy. She had been an idiot, but he’d been an even bigger one. She at least realized exactly what she’d lost, and what for. Jeremy had let go of a amazing girlfriend, and pretty great friend from what she could tell, and he walked around as though he didn’t realize exactly what a huge loss he’d just suffered. He’d figure out eventually just like she did. She had to admit she was sort of glad they hadn’t gotten as far as they all assumed. Anyone who could look at both Brooke and Michael and let them go… she didn’t want to know. 

But maybe it wasn't her place to judge, hadn't she been the one who wanted to make Brooke jealous? She knew she only had herself to blame. Still, it didn't stop the fact that she carefully sidestepped the table where she saw Brooke and Michael sitting, and that her guts were swirling as she took in the stall she'd locked herself in, though from alcohol or guilt she had no clue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave comments and tell me what you think! They're great motivators and sometimes even give a little inspiration into what progresses as the story goes on.


	3. Chapter 3

“Is this okay?”

“Huh?-”

Michael turned around from his spot on the beanbag, snickering slightly to himself. Maybe it was the insanity of this whole situation- or the fact that Brooke was practically drowning in the fabric of his favorite red hoodie. She stuck out her tongue at him, a childlike gesture that startled him in a way. In his hoodie, her hair gathered into a quick messy bun- she looked…

“You look great”

Young, he’d wanted to say. Much more like that girl he remembered from third grade.

At some point, she’d removed all of her makeup (which wasn’t much to begin with if he was being honest)- and he could see that her full lips were naturally like that, her vivid green eyes just as intense on their own as they were when lined with eyeliner. She looked great either way- but like this she looked- human. Sure, she’d never quite maintained the same cold untouchability Chloe had- but she was still plenty intimidating. 

She held herself with the air of someone who was perfect but didn’t know it- which was scary in a different way. With confidence, you know that that person knows where they stand in the world. When they don’t- oh.

He didn’t feel intimidated- he felt… upset?

Dear god Mell- get it together. 

He hated that she couldn’t see what he saw, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Well- there was something…

He’d been about to suggest playing a video game, but he turned around to find Brooke looking slightly alarmed. He automatically set down his disk of Apocolypse Of The Damned, walking over to her. 

“Hey- are you okay?”

“Um… where’s your bathroom? I’m sorry it’s just-”

Oh- that was it? He broke into a quick smile from relief, earning him a slightly (okay very) peeved off look from Brooke.

“Upstairs- first door to the right”

“Thank you”

He watched her head up the stairs, feeling slightly bemused. Day one of having a girlfriend… it felt crazy.

“Michael?”

That- was a voice he knew well.

“Yes Ma?”

His mother turned around, swatting him jokingly with a dish towel as he went in to grab a cookie of the huge tray she’d just pulled out.

“Ah ah ah- not for you yet. I thought I raised you to be a gentleman, wait for your girlfriend.”

She shot him a quick smile at the end of that sentence, her eyebrow raising imperceptibly. He knew that it had been a while since he’d had anyone but Jeremy over- much less someone like Brooke. Her expression was one of polite puzzlement that would have offended him if he didn’t feel the exact same way about this whole situation.

Brooke joined them a few minutes later. She’d evidently given up on the messy bun, letting her long blonde locks fall around her shoulders instead. She shot him a quick smile, and he found himself reciprocating it easily.

His mother watched the two with a look Michael couldn’t quite identify, before he realized that both her and Brooke were watching him expectantly.

“Oh! Brooke- this is my ma. Ma- this is Brooke.”

“Brooke Lohst?”

Brooke nodded, holding out a hand to shake and smiling a little. Evidently, his mother had heard something about Brooke because her features softened slightly into a smile as she pulled Brooke into a hug.

“Welcome to the family Brooke dear. Any friend of Michael’s is automatically a part of the family.”

Michael wasn’t sure what surprised him more- the fact that she'd said this, or that Brookes eyes were swimming with tears when she pulled away. She wiped them away quickly, but Michael made a note to ask what exactly that was about. Brooke tore her gaze away, noticing the cookies and smiling wide. Michael felt a small surge of victory at this, even if he didn’t understand it.

His mother set them out onto a plate, before placing them onto the counter along with two glasses of milk.

“Enjoy you two”

She walked away, smiling slightly as she did and leaving Brooke and Michael alone. Once she had, Brooke took a cookie, breaking it in half and dunking it into the milk, looking bewildered by his expression.

“What-”

“Brookelynn Adrianna Lohst. You did NOT just dunk that cookie into the milk.”

She raised an eyebrow, her smile slowly beginning to grow when she realized what he was saying. Rather than respond, she took the other half, lowering it into the glass with an exaggerated slowness, her eyes not leaving his the entire time.

He just shook his head slowly, taking a cookie and eating it whole. If he was honest, it was entertaining to watch the look of resignation and slight disappointment growing on her face as she watched.

Once he was done, he smiled and voiced a thought he’d been having for a while.

“Okay new friend- what should I know about you? Besides the fact that you eat cookies like an absolute heathen.”

“Do not! But that’s a good point. How do you feel about 20 questions?”

He nodded slowly. “That’s an idea. Surface questions- or hard hitting?”

Brooke shrugged, considering. “I’m not that interesting on the surface- so mix of both”

“Where are you from originally?”

“Virginia”

He blinked once, before bursting into laughter. He had always noticed a slight accent that he never could quite place, but now- he had to admit it made sense. Off the look she gave him, he began laughing even harder.

“What?”

“You- Brooke Lohst- have a southern accent.”

“Well, sure. I spent literally half my life trying to hide it but… yeah”

There it was. He felt rather like a detective who’d cracked a cold case, even if it was just him knowing about Brooke’s accent.

“You?”

“Born and raised here in Jersey”

They went on like this for a while- Michael revealing that he’d literally cried when he found out Hogwarts wasn’t real, and Brooke showing him a picture of the light of her life (her words), her golden retriever Honey.

“What do you hope your last words will be?”

He paused for a moment, but she was smiling as she said it- genuinely curious.

“We always made it a two player game. You?”

She blushed a little, embarrassed.

“Probably telling someone I love them.”

He just nodded at that, not really sure what to say. His mind was still swimming with everything that he’d learned. She was no longer Brooke Lohst- popular blonde, Chloe’s sidekick. She was just… Brooke. A romantic at heart who wanted more than anything else to become a therapist when she grew up. A southern born secret nerd who had a heart as big as the moon, even if she gave it to the wrong people at times. A sweetheart with a ruthless sarcastic streak when a person went to look for it. A person who contained multitudes, who was most afraid of those multitudes never getting recognized. 

Now apparently- his girlfriend.


End file.
